After releasing 2016's Phenotype as part of a double-album, teasing a second half consisting of one long song, Dutch prog/sludge/thrash/core act Textures instead broke up from sheer creative burn-out making it highly unlikely that fans would ever have the closure of hearing said Genotype. We still probably won't; that one-long-song-album was scrapped for not being good enough and the album being discussed today comes from entirely different sessions with a different mindset. It makes sense immediately upon hearing what is now Genotype ten years later, as it's a long way from the chuggy prog-tech-core of Phenotype and much closer to a more cinematic prog a la Devin Townsend, especially on opener Void which acts as an album intro but is equally a rather beautiful soundscape in and of itself.

Either way, it is a hugely effective first taster for the album, particularly with first single At the Edge of Winter following on, a modern prog metal anthem with guest vocals from ex-Delain songstress Charlotte Wessels. It will hardly sound new to anyone, like a djentier version of modern Soilwork, but is very well performed with more prog meander in the second half and will surely win the band back whatever radio time they've been missing since splitting up. What is more arguable is whether they're pushing the prog/djent genre onward or playing catch-up and it can be difficult to see what space Textures are still occupying that the likes of TesseracT or even Architects haven't usurped in their absence...

Fortunately, the focus throughout seems to be more on the prog than the pop; pieces like Measuring the Heavens and A Seat for the Like-Minded build nicely and allow vocalist Daniel de Jongh plenty of space for his vocals (barked harsh, intensely-sung clean, and even vocodered!) to shine. This is all much less heavy and thrashy than the band's previous material, with synths and clean vocals often forward in the mix in a way that will bring earlier Leprous to mind more than the Meshuggah-shaped touchstones of before. Focus generally is on a much more atmospheric and softer sound, such as Nautical Dusk where the riffs are used as a counterpoint to the synths to add heaviness rather than being subject of the focus themselves - apart from in the inevitable breakdown, of course!

It can feel that Textures are holding themselves back by relying on those as an integral songwriting crutch, yet they're undoubtedly effective when they arrive and help buoy up the heavier side of the band, which is left in the dust sometimes with the general atmospheric progginess on the likes of Vanishing Twin even with its rhythmic intensity. Closer to the Unknown is perhaps the closest to their earlier material thanks to sticking to a more classic djenty riff-assault style, even including a guitar solo, and yet still feels modern thanks to the big epic chorus. Fans of earlier Textures aren't necessarily going to love this, particularly by the time eight-minute closer Walls of the Soul rolls around with its initial intricate instrumental focus (particularly showing off drummer Stef Broks' skills) quickly giving way to grandiose vocal-led post-sludge that's the closest thing present to anything approaching, say, Cult of Luna-esque territory. If you're hoping for that, or for Textures as they were in the 2010s metalsphere, you're probably going to be disappointed in Genotype, yet as a prog-leaning modern metal album it's not bad at all and shows there's still a lot of talent in the band. Let's hope they allow themselves to push the boundaries a little more in the future!